Standing By

The Morning After

(Tim)

"Tim... Tim, wake up," someone ordered me, shaking my shoulder.

    Refusing to open an eyelid and keeping them tightly shut, I groaned.  I could swear each shake of the shoulder was rattling brain cells out of my head.  "Stop shaking me."    

    "OK then, wake up," the voice ordered, the person still shaking me.

    "I said, stop shaking me!" I told them crossly, pulling the blanket up over my face, head miserably throbbing.

    "I did," he told me.  "Now I'm just telling you to wake up."

    "Clearly, I am, else I wouldn't be talking to you."  Fuck, my head.  I started to push under the blankets further but only got my feet tangled up in the sheets at the foot of the bed.

    "OK then, act alive," he told me.  "Smith and Gen'll be here in an hour, Adam said."

    "Then bug me again in half hour."  Nervously, terrified of the morning sun smacking me in the face, I opened my eyes.  Seemingly on my side and facing the door instead of the window., I seemed to be safe.  Oh God, how drunk had I been last night?  I could barely remember getting back to my room.  Yet clearly, somehow, I had.  That was a miracle in and of itself.

    "Tim," he said again and I carefully rolled over.  Avi.  What the hell was Avi doing in my room?

    I squinted at him, trying to get my bearings about me.  "How'd you get in here?"

    He pointed to the adjoining door but I didn't bother following his finger.  "Through Chance's room.  He's barely functional too."

    I swallowed thickly.  "How'd I—did you bring me upstairs last night?"  Damn.  I could barely piece last night together.

    He shrugged.  "Dunno how you got upstairs last night.  Ask your band members.  Or the girl you went upstairs with."

    Girl?!?!  What the hell???  Ignoring the pounding in my head, I flopped over frantically to see if I was actually sharing a bed with someone.  Just me.  Something bounced and I reached for it.  I managed to snag it on the third bounce.  A pink hair clip.  Oh my God.

    I sat up, clip still in my hand.  I looked at Avi bewilderedly.  He was struggling to not laugh at me.  "What the hell happened last night?"

    He lost his battle to not laugh.  "Isn't it obvious?"

    Starting to get a sinking feeling in my chest (great, that'll go nicely with the headache), I turned the clip over in my hand.  I didn't remember having had sex last night, but hell, I could barely remember anything about last night.  Oh my God.  What had I gotten myself into?

    The adjoining door creaked open abnormally loudly and Chance padded in wearing grey sweatpants and something silver in his hand.  Wordlessly, he crossed the room and sank onto my bed.

    "Last... night...," he drawled, blinking red hungover eyes at me.

    "Don't ask me," I groaned, now reaching under the covers to double check that I had clothes on.  I prayed I did.  I usually sleep in at least my underwear, sometimes pajama pants.  A precursory fumble told me I was wearing neither.  Oh my God.

    Chance pushed his hand at me as if to give me something.  Confusedly, Avi still cackling away and now Adam sticking his head in from Chance's room looking bemused, I extracted my hand and reached it towards Chance to see what he had.  I took it from him.  An earring.  Three small silver hoops, each hanging from another.  Undoubtedly, a woman's.  Handing it back to him, I uncurled my left hand where I'd been clutching the hair clip.  "I got a hair clip."